Dorothy Gale is the fictional young girl from Kansas who is the main heroine of L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories, first appearing in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is best known from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz , where Judy Garland portrays her as the farm girl who is swept away by a cyclone to the magical Land of Oz along with her dog Toto.

Character basics

Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a Kansas farm and is usually depicted as a brave, kind, and determined child whose greatest wish is to protect her dog and return home. In Baum’s later books, she makes multiple trips to Oz, eventually settling there and being made a princess in the Emerald City.

Role in stories

In the original novel and its famous film adaptation, Dorothy’s house lands on and kills the Wicked Witch of the East, which begins her quest along the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard so she can get back to Kansas. Along the way she befriends the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, helping each of them find what they are seeking while also discovering her own courage and resourcefulness.

Cultural impact

Dorothy has appeared in many books, films, and television series beyond Baum’s originals, becoming one of the most recognizable characters in children’s literature and fantasy. The image of Dorothy in a gingham dress with her small dog and magical shoes (silver in the book, ruby in the 1939 film) is a lasting symbol of adventure, home, and imagination in popular culture.